KALAMAZOO - Tony Disanto doesn't like crowds, doesn't get out much. But when seeking entertainment, he doesn't have to leave his house.

Disanto, 38, has spent most of his adult life transforming his home on Kalamazoo's south side into a museum/game room that brings the entertainment to him. He lives alone, he is single, and he has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Disanto lives on disability and help from his parents, but he doesn't hurt for things to do.

The arcade portion of Disanto's collection features 18 classic arcade games, including Pac Man, Milllipede, Space Harrier, and R-Type. He also owns a hand-held game system, plus enough "regular" video games to keep him playing on his big-screen television for the indefinite future. But it is the arcade style, stand-up games that sets apart his video collection.

"I like to stay home a lot, so I thought I might as well make my house a fun place to be," said Disanto, who didn't want to get more specific about his PTSD, other than to say "it happened from traumatic events that happened to me."

"When I started, I really had no idea that it would turn out to be as big a collection as it is," he said. "The fun part is, it isn't just arcade games. There are so many other types of collections. I think I've created an entertainment center."

Disanto isn't kidding when he speaks of the eclectic nature of his collectibles. There are rock eggs, lava lamps and a 55-gallon fish tank that houses a peach-colored Parrot Cichlid and a large Jack Dempsey.

The mini-museum includes framed beetles from Brazil, and colorful butterflies, including an orange albatross, striped blue crow and a lemon emigrant. There are fossils, shark jaws, marine-life figurines and an extensive rock collection.

Disanto doesn't doesn't know exactly how much money has been spent assembling his scientific carnival, but he said several thousand dollars has been invested in the collection he started in 1990, and "got serious about in 1998."

He wanted to point out that his disability check pays for living expenses, and not for his collection. His parents help pay for many of the items. He also does occasional odd jobs for ARD Consulting, a Bloomingdale-based company owned by his father, chemist Antony Disanto.

"My parents really help me a lot," said the younger Disanto. "They know I prefer to stay home, and they know I would just sit around and watch TV if I didn't have all the entertainment possibilities in my house.

"I still watch too much TV and I smoke too much, but I think it would be even worse without all my stuff."

Disanto procures some of his "stuff" at local hobby shops and game stores. Other items are picked up on eBay, including a $60 alligator head that is on the way right now. Alligator heads used to go for about $125 apiece, according to Disanto, but "their popularity must have decreased. Sixty bucks is a good deal."

Disanto is always searching for such bargains, and he says he has found many. Still, some of the items don't come cheap.

He has paid as much as $1,000 for arcade games, $95 for a framed-beetle collection, and $75 for a colorful collection of butterflies. Disanto said he honestly doesn't remember the price on many collectible items.

"It's not the money that makes it valuable to me," he said. "First, it shows how much my parents care about me. Second, the things in this house represent things I've loved my whole life. I've always enjoyed fossils, science and video games.

"It's about going back to my roots, which I guess all of us could afford to do a little more of. Maybe not with a collection like mine, but just remembering what it is you loved as a kid."